Some of the biggest winners went home empty-handed at the 66th prime time Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, with Vince Gilligan and Matthew McConaughey both being showered with love while missing out on individual accolades at the US television industry's big night on Monday (US time).

Gilligan's Breaking Bad led the field, collecting five awards on the night to add to the one it picked up in last week's technical ceremony, but its creator was pipped in the two categories for which he was personally nominated – as best director and best writer of a drama series (both awards are given to a single episode).

There was consolation, no doubt, in losing the writing award to Moira Walley-Beckett, who penned the "Ozymandias" episode in Breaking Bad's fifth and final season, while best direction went to Cary Joji Fukunaga for the hotly fancied but largely overlooked gothic murder mystery True Detective.

2014 Emmys: award winners

Sarah Silverman: outstanding writing for a variety special for Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles. Photo: Getty Images

Sherlock was the surprise winner in terms of total awards, with three wins on the night adding to its four last week, but it was Breaking Bad that swept the most prestigious categories. It won best drama series, best writing and three of the four acting categories. Aaron Paul (best supporting actor), Anna Gunn (best supporting actress) and Bryan Cranston (best actor) all took home gold.

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Matthew McConaughey might have joined them had it been possible to smelt and cast all the love in the room for the lean, handsome Texan, but the winner of this year's best actor Oscar (for Dallas Buyers Club) lost out to Cranston, as did his True Detective co-star Woody Harrelson.

In a ceremony marked by few truly surprising moments, comedian Sarah Silverman (best writing for a variety special, for her concert show We Are Miracles) caught the eye with her cleavage-busting dress, her barefoot sprint to the stage, her seemingly genuine surprise at winning, and an acceptance speech that started "Thank you to my Jews at CAA – Larry, Moe, Curly".

Barefoot sprint: Sarah Silverman. Photo: Getty Images

But it was her pre-ceremony interview on the red carpet that most excited social media, with many speculating she was stoned. The telltale signs? The spray bottle in her clutch that she claimed contained liquid THC and her distracted fidgeting with her bustier while claiming that her breasts were "the lowest they've ever been and the highest they're ever going to be" (a line she jokingly attributed to the late poet Maya Angelou).

Silverman wasn't the only performer turning heads. Girls star Lena Dunham, with a new perioxide 'do and a red and pink ombre Giambattista Valli-tiered skirt and tailored shirt combo, wore the most contentious outfit of the night. A close second was American Horror Story star Sarah Paulson, whose look resembled something from Giorgio Armani's latest couture collection, and could best be described as a "bee keeper caught in a ladybird plague".